On the Same Page | Get to Know Us!

Hey there loves! As many of you know, one of the biggest “rules” that we are pushing is that we hosts must “know” you. A lot of you have asked what constitutes us “knowing” you, and that is a very valid question in this digital age! Basically, we want to have faith in those that we are allowing into our precious project. We want to be able to say, “Oh yeah, that is the girl who chatted with me about her search for a job as a Librarian.” Or, “She is the girl who was active in the hashtag despite not being able to join in on last round.” We look at your avi picture, we memorize your name, we make notations next to your sign-up in our spreadsheet. Full disclosure: when we go to our spreadsheet and one (OR TWO!!) of us has to notate, “no idea who she is, she doesn’t even follow me” we give some serious side eye. Are we looking for followers? Not in the least bit. Do we think that you ONE BILLION PERCENT should know who ALL THREE hosts are? OH. YES. We actually had a ridiculous amount of people this round thank two of us, not know that they were speaking to one of the hosts when we reached out to inquire about an issue, and so on. It is embarrassing for YOU when we bring this info back to base as the information on who we are is so readily available in a few different places. With that being said, we thought it would be helpful if we each wrote up a little “about me” so that you had some points to bring up when you chatted us up over the next month. HINT: THIS MEANS IT IS A VERY GOOD IDEA TO GO AND VISIT BRITT AND ALYSSA‘S POSTS, THERE MIGHT BE A QUIZ LATER. We put the question to twitter, and some of you had some things you just HAD to know, so let’s get goin’!

How did you get the idea for The Secret Sister Project?

Well, to be honest, Alyssa had the idea for it. She wanted to create something within our community that fostered warm fuzzies between strangers, and who doesn’t want to bring smiles to people’s faces? The prospect of cultivating and growing a supportive, warm group within the blogging community was really appealing to all three of us.

How did the three of you meet?

Of course, we first met each other online. For me, I met Brittany and Alyssa separately. I think one of my first conversations with Brittany was some emailing back and forth about how to convert to wordpress.org. Fascinating, I know. But she was, and remains, super sweet, and when I became friendly with Alyssa, the three of us just kind of meshed up. Speaking of Alyssa, we first met right around this time three years ago (OMG FRIENDIVERSARY!) I was her Secret Santa, and we just bonded over shared interests. Clicked pretty quickly. I would just probably die without them.

What is your favorite (or most popular) blog post that you have written?

I always have a hard time with these questions! If I had to pick a favorite post of mine, it would probably be one of my Top Ten Tuesdays, only because I LOVE making lists of books. I’m not all that creative when it comes to blog posts, which is something I always want to work on. One of my most popular blog posts is my review of CODE NAME VERITY. Not sure how this happened, but there you go.

List a few things that anyone can mention to get you talking!

Just a few, huh? Ok. Obviously books and reading. Outlander (books and show). Maggie Stiefvater. Cheese. Oreos. Food in general. Being from New Jersey. Shopping on Etsy. Friday Night Lights. Football. Baseball (YANKEES!) Harry Potter theories. Game of Thrones theories (R + L = J). I think Tom Brady knew about those footballs. That’s a good place to start, I think!

Which FRIENDS character would you have dated?

Hahahaha, so full disclosure, I’m not nearly as big a FRIENDS fan as Brittany and Alyssa are. I love it and think it’s a hilarious show, but I haven’t seen every episode, I can’t quote from it most of the time, and I’d say about 95% of FRIENDS jokes go over my head. That being said, I’ll have to say Ross. Joey is too…well, dumb, and Chandler would probably drive me nuts eventually. Ross is nerdy and adorable and weird.

Were Ross and Rachel really on a break?

I mean…I feel like I don’t know how to answer this properly. Technically yes? Emotionally no? I’m pleading FRIENDS ignorance here.

What is in your Zombie Apocalypse Kit?

UGH ZOMBIES. Something good to know about me: I hate them. I don’t like reading about them, I don’t want to watch TV shows about them, nothing. Hard pass. But I guess my zombie apocalypse kit would include…I don’t even know what kills zombies, but whatever that is. Canned goods. Velveeta cheese. Books. A light sweater. An umbrella in case it rains on me. Band-Aids. A flame-thrower. I have no idea if any of this is even reasonable.

Marry, Kiss, Kill: Loki, Thorne, Jamie Fraser

This is maybe the easiest question for the three of us to answer. It’s the easiest for me. Marry: Jamie Fraser, Kiss: Thorne, Kill: Loki. #sorrynotsorry

What genre do you enjoy reading the most?

Fantasy. Fantasy of any kind. Old ones, new ones, adult ones, young adult ones…doesn’t matter. If it’s got a map? Sign me up. If it’s got APPENDICES? Get me the smelling salts. The more in depth the world building, the better. Give me conspiracy theories, analyzation. I want to be totally absorbed, and I’m not turned off by the idea of reading books that top 500 pages.

Do you have interests outside of reading?

I do! I love sports, so I watch and follow a lot of that, but not basketball. I love the Yankees, Jets, and Rangers. I also root for the Giants when they aren’t playing the Jets. I never root for any teams from New England in any sport ever. I also love cooking and baking, and am always looking up recipes for things and wanting to try them out. One thing that I’ve always wanted to try to make is croissants. I love stationery and cards and often lament my inability to catch up on my correspondence (HA! FRIENDS JOKE!)

What is your favorite standalone book that you have read lately?

Hmmm…favorite recent standalone. I feel like this is hard for me, for a couple reasons. One, I LOOOOOVE series books. I love them. I’m not a person who can wait for all the books to come out before I start them. Two, often a lot of books that are supposed to be standalones turn into series. All that being said, my favorite recent standalone…UPROOTED by Naomi Novick. Favorite all-time standalone? Tie between THE SCORPIO RACES and THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE.

Who is your favorite or least favorite character in literature?

In terms of character archetypes, I guess I would go with…the conflicted hero. Or maybe the good guy with a bad name kind of thing. I like the conflicts. The characters that live in the gray areas but ultimately have good hearts.

Who is your favorite author that you have met in person?

I haven’t met many authors in person, honestly, aside from when I go to BEA and get books signed. Counting that–since I don’t really have any other choice–it was lovely to briefly meet Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo. Rick Riordan was also super nice.

What upcoming books are you excited for?

Wooo, boy. I’m really looking forward to THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD, A COURT OF MIST AND FURY, BUILT, THE CROWN’S GAME, RIDERS, A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE…like, so many more.

Favorite gifs for reference?

OMG I love so many! Here are a few of the ones that always seem to either make me laugh or apply to my life:

So that’s me in a nutshell! Come talk to me! Also go see Brittany and Alyssa and get to know them, too. They’re pretty damn awesome.